Finding Text
Finding 2023-001 – Eligibility – Material Weakness in Internal Controls Over Compliance and Material Non-Compliance
Federal program information:
Federal Agency/Pass-through Entity: U.S. Department of Agriculture/Washington State Department of Agriculture
Program Name/Cluster: Food Distribution Cluster
CFDA number: 10.568, 10,569
Award number: K2759, K4738
Award period: 10/1/2022 – 9/30/2024
Criteria: Federal regulations and the 2023 OMB Compliance Supplement require that grantees verify eligibility before providing food distribution and maintain records documenting such eligibility.
Condition and context: As part of our testing of eligibility, using a random number generator, we selected 25 days the Organization was open for food distribution during the year ended December 31, 2023. Out of the 25 days tested, the Organization did not follow intake guidelines for required eligibility and data collection prescribed by the Washington State Department of Agriculture for 17 different days.
Questioned costs: There are no questioned costs associated with this finding as there were no direct
payments provided by the Organization to recipients of food commodities from the program.
Cause: The Organization did not require intake forms be completed by recipients of food commodities through home deliveries or at certain distribution centers to determine and document eligibility. No other verification was performed to determine whether individuals were eligible before receiving food commodities.
Repeat finding: This is a repeat finding from the prior year. See prior year finding 2022-001.
Effect: Individuals that are not eligible to receive food commodities may have received food commodities.
Recommendation: The Organization should consistently obtain and maintain client intake data to ensure
compliance with eligibility requirements.
Management’s Response: Management concurs with this finding. See the corrective action plan.